A highly respected Borders livestock auctioneer and land agent with over 40 years' experience and service in the local agricultural community has spoken out to counter a string of damaging accusations from his former employer who owes him six months pay.
The claims of possible criminality by Sandy Jeffrey have been set out in letters written by Martin Frost, chairman of the Avocet agricultural and fuel businesses, to 650 shareholders.
Mr Jeffrey was Avocet's agricultural operations manager until December 2017 when he announced his resignation in front of shareholders at the company's annual meeting. Since then he has been repeatedly maligned by Mr Frost with unsubstantiated allegations which include the possible misappropriation of £400,000.
At the same time Mr Jeffrey, whose son Tristan has also given his 'Avocet story' to Not Just Sheep & Rugby, is a creditor of the insolvent business he served for over two years with a claim for £28,814. He says there is little or no chance of getting the cash he is due.
Mr Jeffrey also told us he had been awarded 100,000 shares in Omega Infinite - another firm now in the hands of liquidators - after he agreed that his company Sandy Jeffrey Ltd. would work for Mr Frost's Avocet Farms Ltd (now Orrdone Farms, in administration) for a minimum of two years.
But after gaining access to the company's shares register he discovered those shares had been transferred to two other companies linked to Avocet directors. He said: "I took legal advice from a barrister in a bid to get the missing shares back even though I know they're probably worthless".
Here's what Mr Frost told Avocet investors in a document circulated on April 9th this year: "There are various other conflicts, a further Omega 100,000 share issue which is unpaid, and the suggestion that Mr Jeffrey abused his Avocet position by running a business of his own within Avocet and thereby securing a pecuniary advantage against Avocet of some £400,000. These and other matters are being pursued by external lawyers on a no win no fee basis.
"There is also the question as to the liability of stock purchased from Sandy Jeffrey Limited having helped introduce Johne’s disease into the Avocet herd. There are also tittle-tattle complaints about Sandy Jeffrey Limited about ‘bad’ dealings detrimental to Avocet – investigations continue."
And in a separate communication issued the very same day, Mr Frost claimed: "Sandy Jeffrey or his business appear to have received/stole over £700k in cash & benefits from Orrdone / Avocet. Note, this was reviewed by Kit Jarvis of solicitors Fieldfisher who prima facie thought that Sandy Jeffrey had committed fraud when Sandy Jeffrey was running Orrdone Farms Limited.
"Sandy Jeffrey had bought cattle which Orrdone Farms Limited paid for, housed and fattened these cattle which Orrdone Farms Limited paid for – and finally sold these cattle owned by Orrdone channelling all cash receipts into his Jeffrey’s own company."
Mr Jeffrey's version of events is somewhat different.
The former farm manager said: "I believed the entire Avocet concept was brilliant to start with and I agreed to begin working for Martin Frost on 22nd November 2015. I was to manage their agricultural operation. Initially it was marvellous; the plan was to build up a big herd of Piemontese cattle, and I travelled to Italy and sourced very good cattle from there and from Ireland.
"Hydroponic units were located at Sunwick and Harcarse Hill farms and everything was progressing nicely. But then the money stopped coming through to pay for things being purchased. I had bought cattle in Italy and we sent a lorry out to pick them up. But the farmers would not release the cattle until they were paid for and when the money wasn’t forthcoming the lorry had to return empty.
"I was not suspicious that something was amiss at this time so I used some of my own money to buy cattle on behalf of the company. It was at that point that Frost accused me of running a business within a business to fraudulently deprive the company of money. But I was able to account for every penny and squared things up with the auditors".
At one time, he said, there were about 500 cattle on the Berwickshire farms with vets present much of the time testing for various diseases. There was also a very stringent vaccination programme in place. "Then Frost stopped paying the vets and started to find fault with everything I was doing so finally I resigned".
In Mr Jeffrey's view the theories and principles behind Avocet's business plans are sound, but Mr Frost never had any intention of fulfilling them.
And Mr Jeffrey told us he has a very personal reason for 'going public' while also attempting to achieve some redress for a group of fellow Avocet investors.
He explained: "I introduced about 25 people who purchased shares in Avocet because I truly believed in the project at the outset. Mr Frost was offering a 5% commission to anyone for selling shares but that was never paid either. I feel I have an obligation to those 25 people who have about 500,000 shares between them to see justice done."
Even during this month of July Mr Jeffrey has had to endure further grave allegations in two of Mr Frost's many shareholders' letters.
On July 6th Mr Frost wrote: "This morning following on from the Harcarse Hill crime report to the Procurator Fiscal; Police Scotland from Edinburgh contacted me about progressing the other theft and fraud complaints including those against Mr.‘Sandy’ Jeffrey and Mr. James Christie."
And there was another salvo on July 18th: " Mr. Sandy Jeffrey in my opinion proved to be a great disappointment – indeed, all Gregor Walker’s tales of Sandy’s misdeeds now appear to be true. Has Sandy stolen land from his neighbour? Does Sandy sell on diseased stock?
"Shortly put: in my opinion Sandy abused Avocet’s trust – namely Sandy purchased cattle which Avocet paid for, Avocet then fed and watered these cattle, and then Sandy sold some 400 head of Avocet’s cattle and kept the money."
But as far as Mr Jeffrey is aware there has been no police investigation involving him.
In previous correspondence with Avocet's shareholders Mr Frost has taken the opportunity to deny allegations he has embezzled £14 million, that he is running a ponzi investment scheme, and that he is perpetrating VAT fraud.
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